U.S., Iran open talks over Tehran's nuclear program

Top U.S. officials on Saturday started negotiations aimed at striking a deal to limit Tehran’s nuclear program.

The talks with Iranian officials were in the Middle East country of Oman, with a backdrop of vows by President Trump that Iran will never acquire a nuclear weapon and that U.S. and Israeli military action could be on the horizon if Washington and Tehran don’t agree.

White House special envoy Steve Witkoff represented the administration at the Oman meeting. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke for  Tehran. The two sides reportedly did not meet face-to-face in the same room, with Omani officials acting as intermediaries.

Mr. Witkoff told The Associated Press before leaving for the trip that the Trump administration has a clear “red line.”

“I think our position begins with dismantlement of your program. That is our position today,” Mr. Witkoff said. “That doesn’t mean, by the way, that at the margin we’re not going to find other ways to find compromise between the two countries.”

He added, “Where our red line will be, there can’t be weaponization of your nuclear capability.”

Mr. Araghchi said Iran believes that its nuclear program is the only issue up for discussion.

“If there is sufficient will on both sides, we will decide on a timetable. But it is still too early to talk about that,” he said, according to Iranian state-run media. “What is clear now is that the negotiations are indirect, and in our view only on the nuclear issue, and will be conducted with the necessary will to reach an agreement that is on an equal footing and leads to securing the national interests of the Iranian people.”

Those comments suggest that Iran won’t entertain negotiations on other issues, such as its ballistic missile program, its support for terrorist groups such as Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthi rebels, and its provision of drones to Russia for its war in Ukraine.

For the U.S., one of the key questions is whether it will push for the full dismantlement of Iran’s plutonium production and uranium enrichment programs or accept something short of that. Analysts generally agree that right now, Iran’s uranium enrichment efforts are at a point where it could make enough weapons-grade uranium for a nuclear weapon within days.

The construction of a nuclear bomb itself would take significantly longer.

Iran’s nuclear program was constrained by the Obama-era 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA. Mr. Trump pulled the U.S. out of that agreement during his first term because he argued it left open pathways for Iran to get a bomb, did not address Tehran’s support for terrorist groups and had other major holes.

As it negotiates with Iran, the U.S. is bombing Yemen’s Houthi rebels, an Iran-backed group that for the past 18 months has targeted commercial and military ships in and around the Red Sea. Over the past month, the U.S. has launched airstrikes on the Houthis as part of a broader push by America and Israel to pressure Iran and its proxy network across the Middle East.

Mr. Trump has expressed optimism about a new deal with Iran while making clear that military strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities remain on the table.

“Maybe a deal is going to be made. That would be great. It would be really great for Iran. I can tell you that,” the president said this week.